[Feature Request] Queue Management

[pushkarjsh88]

Background:-

Recently, one of our Healthcare customers enquired whether we have a workflow for Queue Management in the system. It appeared to be their ‘Nice To Have’ requirement but I thought of collecting more details about the workflow as its inclusion in the system might add some value to the product.

The details gathered through customer interaction and some online research on the same are documented below.

What Is Queue Management?

Queue Management is a process of tracking and improving operational efficiency organizing customer's waiting experience.

An automated Queue Management system ensures that the customers are registered and served in the right order without someone having to manage the process manually. A queue management system helps organizations manage their interactions with the customers and make that journey as comfortable and smooth as possible. It also helps organizations understand how their customers and employees engage by providing the insights on the required data points.

Role Of Queue Management in Hospitals:-

Just like various other domains, Queue Management plays an important role in the Healthcare domain as well. To streamline the waiting experience of patients at crowded Healthcare facilities, such a queue management workflow might play a big role.

Hospitals can make their operations more efficient with the help of a Queue Management workflow in case of walk-in patients, OPDs, medical camps, vaccination drives etc.

Below are the potential benefits of implementing Queue Management workflow in a Healthcare Setup.

• Patients’ waiting time likely gets reduced significantly
• Organized distribution of workload
• Efficient utilization of available human resource
• Some of the front desk task gets automated

Proposed Workflow:-

Following is the tentative workflow commonly satisfying different scenarios.

1. Location Setup:-

• In case of multi-location setup, the user should be able to create different locations.
• Typically, in the Healthcare domain, the locations could be different branches of the diagnostic clinic or different locations where the health camp or vaccination drive is taking place.
• Required specific geographical details of the locations such as Postal Address, CIty, State, Zip Code, Contact Number etc
• Once the locations are set up, the user can set up Working Hours for each location on each day of the week.
• The user can set the start and end date for the Working Hours.Otherwise, the same schedule should get automatically replicated for the future.

2. Service Line Setup:-

• For each defined location, the user can set up desired service lines.
• Service lines are different departments or disciplines where visitors/patients would be addressed..
• The examples of service line are General OPD, Covid Vaccination, Pediatric Vaccination, Eye Checkup, Pathology Camp etc.
• The admin should be able to disable any of the service lines only when there is no ‘Waiting’ visitor/patient in the queue.
• The user should also be able to set an upper limit to the number of visitors who can be registered in the queue.

3. Desk Setup:-

• Once the desired locations and corresponding service lines are set up, the system allows users to define the number of desks aligned with each service line.
• If no specific desks are used then the user can opt out from this setting.
• The user can set up ‘Numbered Desks’ by providing the desired number.
• Similarly, the user can also set up ‘Named Desks’ where relevant names can be given to the available desks for better communication with the visitors/patients.

4. Team Setup:-

• The admin can align users with each location and provide them desired access permissions.
• Typically, the workflow would need three roles such as Clerk, Location Manager and Admin, Desk Manager.
• Admin will have unrestricted access to the entire data pertaining to the workflow.
• Location manager will have access to the entire data pertaining to the location.
• Clerk can just have access to input visitors/patients and process the queue.
• Doctors can get a visitor/patient assigned to them and process the queue after addressing each of them.

5. Sign In Form Setup:-

• The admin should be able to create a Sign-In form which needs to be filled while getting registered in the queue.
• There can be various default data/input types such as Text Field, Link, Email, Contect Number etc.
• The admin should be able to set up different parameters such as ‘Mandatory’,’ Visible To Service Line’, ‘Show In List View’ etc to make it more specific to the requirement of each service Line.
• A new form can be created by selecting appropriate data/input types.

6. Patient/Visitor Sign In:-

• There can be a console setup in the Healthcare facility where each visitor/patient can provide required entails and get oneself aligned in the desired queue.
• The patients/visitors should not be able to self sign in beyond the working hours setup for that particular day.
• The admin can set up a short form that needs to be filed by each visitor/patient on the console while getting self registered.
• The details can include Full Name, Age, Gender, Contact Number, Desired Service Line etc.
• Once a visitor/patient fills and submits the form through the console, it gets queued up in the system and a SMS notification gets delivered to the connect number provided at the time of registration.
• Otherwise, Sign-In can also be done by the clerks where visitors/patients will have to approach the desk and provide required details.
• Upon getting the form submitted, the same notification gets delivered on the contact number provided at the time of registration.

7. Processing Queue:-

• The system should maintain distinct queues for each service line which combines signed in visitors/patients from self check in as well as reception check in.
• Each desk manager should have real time access to the queue pertaining to the corresponding service line only.
• The visitor/patient details such as Name, Contact Number, Service Line, Sign In Date-Time, Current Wait Time should be displayed.
• Each desk manager should keep their desk name selected in the system at all times.
• Any available desk manager should be able to get the next person in queue assigned to him just by a single click.
• As soon as someone gets assigned to the desk, a notification should be flashed or announced in the waiting room.
• As soon as a person is notified to visit the desk, the status of the visitor/patient should get automatically changed to ‘Patient/Visitor Called’ and the date and time should be captured and stored in the system.
• The time difference between Sign In and Patient/Visitor Called should be recorded as ‘Wait Time’.
• While addressing the patient, the desk manager should have quick access to Patient Encounter where appropriate details of the visit can be recorded.
• Once the visitor/patient is addressed, the desk manager should be able to mark the patient/visitor as ‘Finish Serving’.
• Once the desk manager clicks on ‘Finish Serving’ for a patient/visitor, its status in the system should be changed to ‘Completed’ in the system along with the corresponding date and time.
• The time difference between ‘Patient/Visitor Called’ and ‘Completed’ should be recorded as ‘Service Time’.
• The patients/visitors having status as ‘Completed’ should be removed from the active queue.
• The desk manager should be able to disable their desk whenever required. In such cases the Desk Disable and Desk Enable time should be recorded in the system.

8. Analytics:-

• The system should provide a dashboard for analyzing overall efficiency of the operations.
• The dashboard should prominently indicate the number of patients/visitors in queue in real time in each service line, number of patients/visitors served in each service line, Average time spent for each visitor/patient in each service line etc.
• The system should also provide a list view containing details of Visitor/Patient, Service Line, Addressed By, Sign In Time, Time Of Completion, Wait Time, Service Time, Final Status etc.
• The user should be able to filter data based on Time Frame, Service Line, Addressed By, Status, Wait Time, Service Time etc. The data should be exportable in PDF, Excel and CSV format.

[jireh-sg-leo]

Just to tag on, there should be an option to allow a queue ticket to 'follow' the patient's journey through the system. One ticket number for the entire visit.

E.g. Registration -> Vital sign measurement -> Consultation -> Lab -> Pharmacy -> Payment